The biggest concerns when this was rumoured many months ago and even now is how exactly the "Backwards Compatibility" works. Will we all be able to run either version of the game to play Arelith? Will the new version be required to play Arelith in the future? Will Arelith stay with the original server software, and will the Enhanced edition be able to connect?

Miaou wrote:The biggest concerns when this was rumoured many months ago and even now is how exactly the "Backwards Compatibility" works. Will we all be able to run either version of the game to play Arelith? Will the new version be required to play Arelith in the future? Will Arelith stay with the original server software, and will the Enhanced edition be able to connect?

I believe that is the question wanted answered most.

This is the million dollar question: Does 'Backward Compatible' mean 'Cross Compatible'.

Backwards Compatible never means Cross Compatible.
You were never able to play PS2 games on a PS1 for example.

I don't actually know the answer Miaou but my best guess would be that the server will transfer to NWNEE and people will need NWNEE to be able to play on it.
So far the price range i've seen in different reports see it hanging around the 20 bucks mark, which imo is totally fair.
There may be some sort of pre-order bonus, or even in some cases things like this offer a heavy discount or even a free upgrade to people that own an original CD key.
So my advice: Be prepared to purchase NWNEE, be prepared for that purchase to be around 20 bucks, but keep the hope up for it to be a free or potentially discounted upgrade.

NOTE: This is just my own personal best guess, please don't take it as fact!!

Last edited by Orian_666 on Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Orian_666 wrote:Backwards Compatible never means Cross Compatible.
You were never able to play PS2 games on a PS1 for example.

I don't actually know the answer Miaou but my best guess would be that the server will transfer to NWNEE and people will need NWNEE to be able to play on it.
So far the price range i've seen in different reports see it hanging around the 20 bucks mark, which imo is totally fair.
There may be some sort of pre-order bonus, or even in some cases things like this offer a heavy discount or even a free upgrade to people that own an original CD key.
So my advice: Be prepared to purchase NWNEE, be prepared for that purchase to be around 20 bucks, but keep the hope up for it to be a free or potentially discounted upgrade.

Kotaku article wrote:Basically, the enhancements are limited to a few pieces of UI and the menu scaling properly up to 4K, and the addition of effects like depth-of-field, pixel shaders and post-processing.

Gods_Kill_People wrote:My only question....is Arelith going to be transitioning over...if very VERY slowly

Yes, it will. Arelith has been the primary PW involved in advising development (with a few major hat-tips to others). Eventually, Arelith will upgrade, and NWN:EE will be mandatory to keep playing. My understanding is that pricing will be very reasonable, especially for existing owners.

Miaou wrote:The biggest concerns when this was rumoured many months ago and even now is how exactly the "Backwards Compatibility" works. Will we all be able to run either version of the game to play Arelith? Will the new version be required to play Arelith in the future? Will Arelith stay with the original server software, and will the Enhanced edition be able to connect?

NWN:EE will not be backwards compatible. There are too many code changes for that to be possible. But the transition will be taken carefully -- we're not talking about a sudden surprise update one day where everyone must suddenly pay $20 to keep playing.

Orian_666 wrote:Backwards Compatible never means Cross Compatible.
You were never able to play PS2 games on a PS1 for example.

I don't actually know the answer Miaou but my best guess would be that the server will transfer to NWNEE and people will need NWNEE to be able to play on it.
So far the price range i've seen in different reports see it hanging around the 20 bucks mark, which imo is totally fair.
There may be some sort of pre-order bonus, or even in some cases things like this offer a heavy discount or even a free upgrade to people that own an original CD key.
So my advice: Be prepared to purchase NWNEE, be prepared for that purchase to be around 20 bucks, but keep the hope up for it to be a free or potentially discounted upgrade.

He asked about Backwards Compability (which is something that has been confirmed with NWNEE in regards to saves, character vaults etc etc.), not cross compability.
Then you asked does Backwards Compat mean Cross Compat, it doesn't.

Gods_Kill_People wrote:My only question....is Arelith going to be transitioning over...if very VERY slowly

Yes, it will. Arelith has been the primary PW involved in advising development (with a few major hat-tips to others). Eventually, Arelith will upgrade, and NWN:EE will be mandatory to keep playing. My understanding is that pricing will be very reasonable, especially for existing owners.

Awesome, thanks for answer!!

Miaou wrote:The biggest concerns when this was rumoured many months ago and even now is how exactly the "Backwards Compatibility" works. Will we all be able to run either version of the game to play Arelith? Will the new version be required to play Arelith in the future? Will Arelith stay with the original server software, and will the Enhanced edition be able to connect?

NWN:EE will not be backwards compatible. There are too many code changes for that to be possible. But the transition will be taken carefully -- we're not talking about a sudden surprise update one day where everyone must suddenly pay $20 to keep playing.

I've played through Icewind Dale (on an Android tablet!) and the Baldur's Gate EEs and they did a great job. If this is ported to half of the platforms as those, it will be an amazing thing-- you could, potentially, be able to play NWN natively on a phone. I mean yes, I will most certainly lose my job and end up penniless in a gutter somewhere but I will finally reach level 30.

I guess there are technical aspects here that are beyond me, but...it kinda looks utterly the same. If Jack Oat's quote is even half right, it sounds like a new way to take our money for stuff we already own. I feel like this is the video game equivalent of bottled water.

So please, somebody splain it to me.

And tell me how this is more exciting than the possibility of the Arelith hak server.

"I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud"

Spaniardl wrote:So basically, after playin UD for a long time I started feeling like it is kind of depressing because 98% of the time im traveling very dark areas... .

RedGiant wrote:I guess there are technical aspects here that are beyond me, but...it kinda looks utterly the same. If Jack Oat's quote is even half right, it sounds like a new way to take our money for stuff we already own. I feel like this is the video game equivalent of bottled water.

So please, somebody splain it to me.

And tell me how this is more exciting than the possibility of the Arelith hak server.

It will likely sell through the Microsoft and Mac App stores, and possibly even Android and iOS. Based on Baldurs Gate sales this could mean hundreds of thousands of new NWN players. Potentially even millions. Arelith could very well be swamped with new blood which will be mostly good, though plenty of trolling and other bad behavior will surely come with so it will be a mixed blessing for DMs!

Also, another effect may be other persistent worlds are created or revived. I doubt it will be like the glory days of 2005 again but there could still be a renaissance of activity around the community.

This is of course assuming persistent worlds are actually supported. It seems like modules and multiplayer will be happening so it seems likely but.. we shall wait and see? You never know, Beamdog might have even contacted the Arelith devs..?

Last edited by Improv on Tue Nov 21, 2017 3:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

So uh, how are CDkeys going to work? I super doubt they'll let you slot in your own since the liars, thieves, and jackanapes that play this game'll just snatch it from the wilds. So we'll need some kind of cd key transfer?

Is this even going down? Arelith's taken how many years to get on the hak train, finally?

"The studio has been known for working on Infinity Engine games such as Baldur's Gate through Icewind Dale, and recently released Planescape Torment, as enhanced editions meant for modern systems. Neverwinter Nights is their first foray into Aurora Engine titles. Here is a listing of what the enhanced edition offers:

Improved Display: Your portrait, combat bar, inventory, and other UI elements adjust in size based on your chosen resolution including 1080p and 4k.

Advanced Graphics Options: Pixel shaders and post-processing effects make for crisper, cleaner visuals. Enable contrast, vibrance, and depth of field options as preferred.

Community Endorsed: Original developers have teamed with key members of the Neverwinter Nights community to curate important fan-requested improvements to support players, storytellers, and modders.

Backwards Compatibility: Works with save games, modules, and mods from the original Neverwinter Nights. A galaxy of community created content awaits."

"You have died...Your corpse has been picked up...Your corpse has been dropped..Player you thought was your ally has left the group."
(the ultimate betrayl..)